Have been doing thunderdome rounds between 2 Uptons at a time. Drank this yesterday afternoon when Steepster was down, comparing it to Upton’s Margaret’s Hope 2nd flush White Delight. And I was doing a darjeeling-a-thon the whole day; I compared two Thurbo 1st flushes and later two Thurbo 2nd flushes and then moved on to the Margaret’s Hopes.

Looks the part of a 2nd flush darjeeling in the cup, that pretty reddish brown. Smells lovely dry, that oh so slight musky perfume thing.

I really like the way this smells both dry and in the cup. Get the feeling I don’t quite love it in the cup as much as the winning 2nd flush Thurbo though. More astringent, which is eh, but also has a gentle lingering sort of…rooty, slightly bitter flavor that is actually quite good, and doesn’t show up at first, it takes a bit. That part’s cool. Earthy, a bit mineral/granite-y, kind of like soil, some rootiness. A nice vegetal flavor eventually shows up too, and as it cools a sweetness comes in at the finish of the swallow that’s nicely balanced with the other stuff.

So. It’s slightly astringent for my tastes, but the other stuff almost kinda makes up for it…complex and subtle, the way darjeelings are wont to be. I would drink it again…it’s not an easygoing drink-while-distracted-or-in-need-of-babying-comfort cup, but an interesting, fun-to-experience-its-nuances thing. The astringency is what keeps it from being something I could pick as my everyday-like-a-favorite-pair-of-jeans,-pick-only-one darjeeling.

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“…you can never know everything about anything, especially something you love.”
-Julia Child on food and cooking, and I think it applies to tea as well!

note: i am currently taking a break from swapping/mail of any kind as money is rather tight. i apologize! i do love to swap but i can’t afford to right now. hopefully in a month things will change.

my cupboard includes any tea i’ve ever owned, including things i’ve sipped down, in order to facilitate swaps with people and keep a record—this way i don’t get redundant samples/order duplicates to try. if you are interested in swapping, i have a separate ever-updated list of teas i actually have on hand i can PM.

notes i generally can’t stand (at least in tea) include jasmine, rose (ok in small doses but i often find it overpowering and then everything just smells like musty old lady perfume), astringent apple (and general fruitiness really unless it’s with green tea), and chamomile (unless i’m congested or tired).

born in seoul, raised in new england and upstate new york, went to college in pittsburgh, currently in memphis with an eye toward philadelphia, portland, or asheville eventually.

i like cats, most beverages really (i also like good freshly roasted coffee, craft beer, wine, whiskey and gin-based cocktails, and soda/soft drinks like agua fresca), art (mainly writing but also visual and music) and critical theory, feminism/genderqueer politics, historiography, statistics, children’s literature and librarianship, travel, and food/cooking. also have recently gotten into weightlifting (mark rippetoe and stumptuous!) and sprint training (HIIT, plyometrics) and i love it.